warhammer40kfanonfandomcom-20200216-history
Volaria
Volaria is a mostly desert-covered planet in the Tamahl sector of Segmentum Obscurus, classified as a Mining World by the Imperium. It is a significant regional trade hub in the sector and one of its largest suppliers of various materials, particularly fuel. The planet's many mines and rigs are worked by countless slaves, as Volarian society is very feudalistic and revolves around slavery. Its harsh environment requires Volaria to be ruled with an iron fist, to prevent large numbers of people from trying to leave, and the planet's backwater location and status have made Imperial authorities overlook the rampant slavery. These conditions have made it infamous for breeding hardened and enduring people, including the notorious Kuritai and Varitai — Volarian slave soldiers. The planet is under the overall leadership of the aristocratic Ruling Council, consisting of nobles that own at least ten million slaves. Geography and climate Most of Volaria's surface is covered in scorching deserts, interrupted by the occasional oasis, metropolitan area or resource extraction facility. Much of the land is only sparsely inhabited or completely empty, spotted with small villages and some outlaw camps where escaped slaves and other exiles eek out a miserable existence among the dunes. The world's economic growth has allowed the Volarian nobility to construct several large cities near major water sources, which is where governmental and business functions are centered. From there, many scribes and bureaucrats of the aristocratic class run the industry of extracting and selling off various natural resources, which are procured from the thousands of mines, rigs, and quarries that are located not far from the population centers. The planet is divided into provinces for administrative purposes, most of which are centered around a large city or other significantly-sized settlement. They are interconnected by maglev railways, or, in more remote outlying locations, ordinary roads. The climate makes it logistically difficult and costly to maintain large infrastructure, so it is prone to breakdowns. The few areas around the poles with a milder climate that are not deserts are mostly forests and a few mountains, which provide lumber, rock, and metal for construction. Large swaths of those areas are kept in pristine natural condition and house the estates of the Volarian elite. The climate is typically very hot year round, being between 30 and 45 degrees in most areas. The regions with milder weather are also fairly sarm year round, only getting occasional rainfall in the winter. History The early period of the colonization of Volaria is largely unknown. It is thought to have been first discovered during the Horus Heresy and became the home of refugees from nearby worlds that were devastated. They lost contact with the rest of the Imperium until around the 37th millennium. During that time of troubles the planet's colonists lost a lot of the technology they had brought, including space flight as their ships broke down. They had devolved into various nomadic tribes that scourged a living in the desert sands of Volaria, most being oblivious to the mineral and fuel wealth that lay beneath its surface. These tribes were ruled by noble clans and fought each other for territory and resources. When the planet was discovered by explorers from the Adeptus Immateria Cartographum by chance, geological surveys revealed its natural resources and soon the tribesmen went to work extracting them. They pledged allegiance to the Emperor that the off-worlders said they served due to their vastly superior technology, giving the resources to them in return for wealth and that tech. The leading clans of the tribes became the nobility and established a Ruling Council to manage the planet. In these conditions it was not long before the lower peasants were forced into slavery to toil away in the mines and fuel refineries. Eventually they were able to gain large amounts of wealth, which the Volarian elites used to build massive cities and expand their operations. Government and politics Administration The planet is run in the style of an absolute monarchy and a plutocracy. The nobility hold virtually all positions of power in the bureaucracy and the businesses, owning most of Volaria's wealth, resources, and people. The seat of government is the city of Volar, a large metropolis in the southern hemisphere. It is where the supreme executive body is based, the Volarian Ruling Council. Although the Imperial Planetary Governor theoritically has total control over the planet, he traditionally remains in a space station in orbit, maintaining an official consulate in Volar. Thus the Ruling Council has tacit permission to run the planet as it wishes as long as it does not defy the Imperium and keeps the minerals and fuel coming. The council usually consists of three hundred to five hundred members, varying over time. It is under the overall leadership of a Prince-Elector (or simply elector), who is elected from among the Ruling Council. Individual members are referred to as Councilmen (they are exclusively male, with very few historical exceptions). The issue of slavery is a bit complex in the legal sense. It is overlooked largely for several factors. Most importantly, the governors acknowledge that it is the most efficient method of extracting Volaria's resources at the necessary pace. Where recently-arrived officials do protest, they are quietly bribed or threatened into silence. Also the planet's backwater location in a quiet sector, and scheduled deliveries of resources, keeps it out of the notice of the Inquisition or Adeptus Arbites. The number of slaves has become important in Volarian politics as it is what allows one to hold government positions. Those with at least ten million slaves get to sit on the Ruling Council, Divisions between the government and major companies are essentially nonexistent. Many aristocrats that sit in the committees and ministries are also the owners or high officials of corporations. However, due to the feudalistic nature of Volarian society, companies are loose and frequently collapse or be reformed. Ruling Council The Ruling Council sits in Volar and consists of the most powerful and prestigious of aristocrats, usually one seat per noble house. The requirement to be one the council is to own ten million slaves, and although the numbers fluctuate there are a good several hundred families that do so at any given time. The fifty or so of the most ancient scions, those that can trace back their lineage to the days that Volaria was inhabited by primitive tribes, and own slaves numbering in the tens of millions, sit on the smaller body known as the Electorate. These are able to pick from among themselves the Prince-Elector, the overall head of government. Each family is represented by one member, and the seat is usually inherited by the eldest male member of the house. Members of the council decide on all laws and taxes, and serve to advise the Prince-Elector. He can veto their decisions if need be, but they can override this with a two-thirds majority vote. The elector can then theoretically use a clause known as the Emperor's Word (implying that the elector is the representative of the emperor on their world) to ignore their vote anyway, but in practice it is rarely activated. The Elector can issue edicts (for which the same voting process applies), but they are often made after already consulting with the council. The Elector of the Ruling Council technically answers to the Imperial Planetary Governor, who is either selected from among the council, or more often appointed from other worlds. The historical policy has been that the governor remains on a luxurious space station in orbit while the council makes all of the decisions. The idea is that the governor has no need to intervene in their daily affairs as long as everything is stable and the raw goods continue to be shipped from the Volarian mines and refineries to the Imperium. Most of the appointed governors have been content with this arrangement, coming to consider it an easy posting. Military Volaria is defended by a planetary defense force and also provides regiments for the Imperial Guard, the latter being known as the Volarian Imperial Host. It turned out that the harsh environment and upbringing has created the ideal unflinching, emotionless soldiers. The bulk of these slave guardsmen are known as the Varitai, being the average slave soldiers, possessing no will of their own and high endurance, the most expandable in the eyes of Volarian officers. The smaller elite forces are known as the Kuritai, being just as dedicated as their counterparts but much more skilled and fewer in number. Since slaves are needed to work the mines and rigs on Volaria, these are supplanted by the free citizen conscripts known as the Free Rifles. They have good training but more independent will than the slave soldiers, making them a considerably less dedicated. In addition, various mercenaries are hired as auxiliaries from among certain free citizens, outlaws and exiles, and off-world foreigners. The PDF mainly consists of the forces of the Host that are unneeded and left on the planet, known as the Volarian Electoral Host (referring to their loyalty to not merely one clan on Volaria but to the Prince-Elector of the Ruling Council). Nobles are allowed to raise Varitai and Kuritai from among their slaves and amass their own House Guard armies, but they are all obliged to give some to the Imperial Host for service to the God-Emperor and to have their troops serve under the Prince-Elector's command in defense of the homeland when he calls. Economy The economy is almost entirely based on the export of raw materials to other worlds of the Imperium, while in turn importing foodstuffs, machine parts, and various technology. It is largely driven by slavery, which is used for the necessary backbreaking labor, while a small part of it is freemen and nobles making investments and deals. Income inequality is incredibly high, although many lower class people have their needs cared for by their masters. Trade in anything else from Volaria besides resources is minimal, mostly limited to fuel-based products that are produced in the planet's few local factories. The main economic centers are Volar, the planetary capital, and the city of Mirtesk, the main financial and business hub. Society and culture Social hierarchy Volarian culture is heavily based on slavery and rigid social classes. The people remain divided between the large lower class of slaves, a smaller middle class of freemen, and an even smaller high nobility. The latter maintain control over most of the planet, owning the resources and the majority of the population. They pay lip service to the God-Emperor and the Imperial officials that arrive on Volaria, but do not have much real allegiance to any higher power than their own. Social mobility is rare but not nonexistent, as free citizens and even slaves have been known to move up for outstanding merit, but in the 41st millennium such instances have become increasingly uncommon. About 60% of the population are enslaved in some way, formally or informally. They are regarded as highly expandable in Volaria's brutal society, having access to little or no medical care and being largely reliant on the goodwill of their master. In this they are not much different than countless billions of other Imperial citizens who toil away in terrible conditions on Industrial and Mining Worlds, but the situation on Volaria is particularly harsh. At least many of those planets still treat the lower classes with some humanity as citizens of the Imperium, but to the average Volarian slave their owners are their entire existence. Many are so uneducated that they do not know much about the Imperium or that it even exists. Some better-hearted nobles that treat their slaves and servants humanely are present, but for the most part the upper aristocracy is either indifferent or looks down on them with disdain. But they are kept under strict control as they are vital for the running of the economy. Another 30% of the population are freemen, middle class citizens that hold management positions or are otherwise better off. These tend to be professional craftsmen, engineers, or low- to mid-level functionaries in the planetary administration and businesses. They enjoy much more independence than their enslaved counterparts, but still are looked down upon by the nobles to some degree. There is some understandable jealousy from the slaves towards them, but conscious decision and the differences in their jobs prevent much contact between members of the two classes. Free subjects are usually the families of those who managed to earn emancipation through a great deed for their lord, or their descndents. Some are lesser nobles that have lost political struggles or otherwise fallen out of favor. Regardless of their background, the freemen form an essential middle class the carries out more complex and important but tedious tasks. The remaining 10% includes the aristocracy. These are the slave owners, government officials, and businessmen of Volaria. They hold virtually all high positions of power on the planet and own everything else. Not all own slaves, but those that do are considered more powerful. The number of slaves owned is used as a way of measuring their powe and prestige. The most elite noble houses own upwards of a million slaves, and those that own at least ten million sit on the planet's Ruling Council. Noblemen also serve as officers in the Imperial Guard regiments raised on Volaria, known as the Volarian Imperial Host, or in the Electoral Host, the planetary defense force. Customs The Volarian people are, for the most part, unaffected by the Imperium at large and are insular, with all but a few influential nobles not knowing much about about the greater galaxy. As a result the Volarians developed their extensive customs despite the difficult conditions on their homeworld. Among those is a tradition from that days that Volaria was ruled by nomadic tribes: loyalty to one's master, or in the case of freemen and aristocrats, to one's noble house that they are either part of or serve. Many who leave the planet also pay lip-service to the God-Emperor once they find out more about him, but mostly out of fear than anything else. In some cases their loyalty to their noble clan also extends to the Emperor, whom they view as the master of them all. That is a common belief held by members of the Volarian aristocracy. Anyone who is born a psyker is looked on with suspicion, and many are killed when they are found out as they are viewed by the more traditional-minded Volarians as being a harbinger of sorrow and doom. Some are kept alive and used by the Imperial Host as soldiers, but most end up being killed after their powers become known. Category:Worlds Category:Mining Worlds